Container closure



z- 27. 1940- c. J. GUSTAFSON CONTAINER CLOSURE Filed March 13, 1937 ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 27, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE' 2,213,163 CONTAINER CLOSURE Application March 13, 1937, Serial N 0. 130,710

3 Claims.

This invention relates to containers such as are usually formed of sheet metal having beads around the top and covers having portions extending over the beads and drawn to closing position by means of suitable closure rings. It is more particularly directed to the closure rings and means for closing and opening the same. Various types of such closure rings have heretofore been proposed or used and the present invention is in tended to simplify the construction of the same and to provide an effective closure means which can be readily made at a comparatively low cost and which will serve efiectively for closing the cover and fastening the same in closed position. In addition to the objects indicated, other objects are to provide a split closing ring with a closing and opening arm or lever pivotally connected with one end of the ring and novel means for connecting the lever with the opposite end of the ring whereby the ring may be drawn to closed position or forced to open position.

Other objects and novel features will appear more fully from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of the top of a container with my improved closing ring applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 and looking upwardly toward the ring;

Figure 3 is.a bottom plan view of a portion of the ring and closing mechanism shown in open position;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 1; and

Figures 7 and 8 are details of a lever catch.

The container 1 may be of any desired size, as for instance a barrel or drum, pail, can, or the like, but for convenience will be described as a. pail, such pails being frequently made of five gallon capacity for use in shipping paint, greases, food products, or other goods. The pail has a bead or curl 8 around the top and is provided with a cover 9 having a depressed portion fitting within the top of the pail and a flange Ill projecting outwardly over the bead. A gasket II is usually provided between the bead and flange as shown.

The cover is fastened in closed position by means of a split contractible and expansible ring or band I2 which is substantially semi-circular in cross section or provided with converging surfaces for engagement with the rim and bead to draw these parts together when the ring is tightened as will be readily seen from Figure 5. The ring is provided at one end with a fulcrum or beating I3 for a curved closing lever l4, preferably formed 5 of folded sheet metal as shown. This fulcrum may be formed integrally with the ring but preferably comprises a pad or plate I! which is welded to the outer surface of the ring and which has an inwardly extending U-shaped projection 10 or-bearing-portion l6 through which projects a rivet or pintle I! which engages with the end of the lever I 4. The opposed edge of the plate may be provided with a notch or recess 31 in align-, ment with the rivet for convenience in riveting the same. The bearing portion I6 is preferably positioned under the ring andso that it will engage with the side of the pail in order to take up any twisting, thrust or transverse bending of the ring during the closing operation.

The lever H is connected directly with the opposite end of the ring by means of a resilient or spring arm which coacts with the lever for closing and opening the ring. In the particular construction shown I provide a pad or plate l8 which 88 is welded to the opposite end ofthe ring and which has a downwardly and preferably inwardly extending projection is which is in substantially the same plane as the bearing l 6 and which has a stiffening flange around the lower edge. The projection l9 has a resilient arm 2| which may be secured thereto in any desired manner but which is preferably formed integrally therewith, being bent back with an inwardly extending loop as shown at 22 so that it projects toward the opposite end of the ring as shown in Figure 3, and the loop permits suitable movement or bending without breaking. This arm is preferably provided with a longitudinal stiffening rib 23 and is bifurcated at the end to provide a bearing 24 for the pivot 25 which connects it with the lever I 4.

A catch or detent 26 serves to hold the arm H in closed or fastening position.

This catch or lock as shown in Figures 1 to 6 comprises a small plate 21 which is spot-welded 65 or otherwise secured to the ring and which extends downwardly alongside the pail as shown in Figure 6 and terminates in a flange or inwardly bent. part; 28, the edge of which is spaced at a sumcient distance from the side of the pail to permit the lever II to be swung thereunder to catching position. This plate is slotted to provide a centraltongue or locking member 29 the lower end 30 of which is bent at substantially right angles and which is considerably longer 66 movement of the lever than the flange 28. This locking tongue is normally bent outwardly as shown in dotted lines in Figure 6 so that the inner edge of the fastening portion 20 is approximately in alignment with the inner edge of the flange 28 which permits free into fastening position. After the lever is engaged with the flange 28 or in fastening position the tongue 25 is bent in wardly into alignment with the plate which causes the end of the fastening branch 20 to project beyond the flange 28 to a point sufficiently close to the side of the pail as to prevent the movement of the lever out of the catch. This securely locks the lever in position and when it is to be released any sharp pointed tool may be inserted in the recess 3! in the plate adjacent to the tongue and the tongue again bent to normal position, which will free the lever.

A modified form of catch is shown in Figures 7 and 8 in which a plate 32 is welded or otherwise secured to thering and has a flange 33 similar to the flange 28 for ordinary holding or catching purposes. The plate also has a tongue or projection 34 adjacent to the flange which may be bent inwardly as shown in dotted lines in Figure 8, to a position sufliciently close to the pail to prevent the handle or lever from being released from the catch. When the pail is to be opened this tongue or projection N is bent back to its original position to free the handle so that it may be disengaged from the catch.

All of the pads or plates such as i5, ll, 21 and 32 which are to be spot-welded to the ring, may be integrally formed therewith but are preferably provided with one or more locating tits or projections such as shown at 35 for engagement with suitably positioned holes in the ring as shown at 36 whereby the part to be applied may be quickly assembled with the ring and held in position preparatory to the welding operation.

When the ring is applied to the container for closing the same the lever I4 is swung from open position to closing position and as it approaches closing position the arm 2| is bent or flexed and pressed against the bearing members I6 and I8, thus tending to press the ends of the ring closely against the bead and flange while the ring is being contracted to closing position. This makes a particularly tight and effective closure and the lever will be held securely in closing position by the catch 26 until it 'is desired to open the pail or container.

When the pail is to be opened the handle or lever I4 is released from the catch and swung outwardly, which tends to move the pivot point 25 out, thus relieving the tension on the ring and during the final opening movement the lever may be swung toward the opposite end so that the thrust on the arm 2| will tend to further spread or open the ring, which is particularly desirable in the event that the ring has become stuck.

It will be readily seen that I have provided a particularly simple and effective closure but one which may be utilized a number of times if it is desired to close the pail or container.

While I have shown a preferred form of my invention, changes may be made in the details of construction in order to adapt the same for different types of containers and therefore I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described except as specified in the following claims, in which I claim:

1. The combination with a container having a. bead and a cover coacting with the bead, of a split contractible channeled closing ring for fastening the cover to the bead, a plate secured to one end of the ring and having an integrally formed bearing extending downwardly and inwardly below the ring, a curved lever having one end pivotally connected with said bearing, a plate secured to the opposite end of the ring and having an integrally formed resilient arm projecting beyond the adjacent end of the ring and having its free end bifurcated to receive the lever, a pivot extending through said bifurcated end and the lever spaced from the lever bearing, and means on the ring engageable by the free end of the lever for holding the lever in positive closing position against the tension of the resilient arm. the arrangement being such that when the lever is swung to closing position the ends of the ring will be drawn toward each other and the lever will pass under the ring so that substantially no parts project beyond the outer periphery of the ring.

2. The combination with a container of the character set forth, of a split closing ring, a pad.

secured to the ring adjacent one end thereof, having a U-shaped projection extending inwardly below the ring to form a bearing, a lever having one end pivoted in said projection and curved to fit under the ring when in closed position, a pad secured to the ring adjacent to the opposite end thereof and having an integrally formed flat resilient arm extending downwardly therefrom and adapted to be bent to conform to the curvature of the ring, the free end of the arm being offset and bifurcated to provide a bearing for receiving the lever, a pivot extending through said bearing and the lever, and means on the ring for holding the lever in closed position, the arrangement being such that when the ring is closed, the bifurcated end of the arm and the lever will lie underneath the ring whereby substantially no parts project beyond the, outer surface thereof.

3. The combination with a closing ring of the character set forth, of a bearing extending downwardly and inwardly from one end of the ring to a point within the outer periphery of the ring, a closing lever having one end pivoted in said bearing and adapted to swing outwardly from the ring, a plate rigidly secured to the opposite end of the ring and having an integrally formed arm extending therefrom which is substantially rigid but sufliciently flexible to bend to follow the curvature of the ring, the free end of the arm having pivotal connection with the lever at a point spaced from the lever bearing, and a catch for holding the lever in closed position.

CHARLES J. GUSTAFSON. 

